As Christians around the globe begin the Lenten period of atonement today in preparation for
Easter, food — or avoiding it — takes center stage.

Fasting and refraining from certain foods are seen as a way to grow spiritually, but some also
turn to Lenten sacrifices to renew a focus on healthy living, on care of the Earth or on animal
welfare.

Members of Grace New Covenant Apostolic Church in North Linden take part in a modified version
of the Daniel diet, emulating the Old Testament prophet Daniel, who avoided meat because it was
offered to idols, said the Rev. Gregory Fly, pastor.

He said the annual practice increases prayer and attendance at the church of about 125 members
while also helping participants “to look at their diet and, hopefully, make some corrections.”

To help Christians who are avoiding meat, the Humane Society of the United States has teamed up
with Franciscan Media to create publications and materials titled “Compassionate Living for Lent.”
Considering the treatment of animals on factory farms adds meaning to the Lenten sacrifice, said
Christine Gutleben, senior director of the society’s Faith Outreach program.

“It’s incredibly powerful to connect one’s faith with food choices, and it’s a way to live out
faith every day,” she said.

Some religious groups, including Buddhists and Jains, tend toward a vegetarian lifestyle as a
way of living nonviolently. Others avoid certain types of meat or have rules regarding slaughter.
Judaism, for example, requires food animals to be slaughtered with respect and compassion.

Christians changing to a plant-based diet consider the conditions of factory animals as well as
the effect that farms have on the environment, said Dr. Stephen Kaufman, who heads the
Cleveland-based Christian Vegetarian Association of about 7,000 members.

“We’re not called to satisfy our stomachs. We’re called to serve,” he said. “And if what we’re
eating is harmful to God’s Earth or other people or God’s animals, that’s reason to think you
should be doing something else.”

For people who already avoid meat, choosing a Lenten diet of sacrifice could pose an additional
challenge. The key is to plan meals that offer a level of privation, such as a simple bowl of beans
and rice, said Leo Madden, the head of the Department of Theology at Ohio Dominican University on
the North Side.

“One must always be reminded of the overarching purpose of abstinence, which is a practice of
penance so that one raises up one’s heart and mind to the higher things,” he said.

Outside of Lent, it would take significant education about factory-farm conditions to persuade
most Christians to stop eating animals, said the Rev. Skip Cornett, a retired Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America clergyman who has worked in the Dayton and Columbus areas.

“The practice of meat eating is so embedded in the church self-understanding and world view that
it is very difficult to challenge,” said Cornett, who avoids eating meat. “The idea of not eating
meat in church dinners is just not a topic of discussion.”

Kaufman said Christians should consider abstaining from meat not as a sacrifice but as a way to
explore a healthy and spiritually rewarding diet.

“It’s about mindful eating. It’s about striving to cause the least harm and the most good,” he
said. “It’s part of a broader picture of what it means to be a Christian.”